The official blog of center fielder Marlon Byrd

8/16 Something to play for

The last six weeks, Padres, Braves, the Cardinals again — they’re all first or second-place teams. They’re all in the thick of things. The Giants come to town and we’ve got Cincinnati again. You still have to get up for the games and that makes it a lot easier instead of playing teams that are having down years like we’re having. The competition is there, you see the fire on the other side. There is something to play for. It’s not fun getting spoiled if you’re the other team. When you’re the team doing it, it’s a lot of fun. It gives us something to play for. You can’t look past this season. You want to try to finish strong and go into the offseason with positive attitudes.

For me, personally, this is going to be fun. Seeing the team looking back at the scoreboard, seeing what the other team is doing to them and us trying to beat up on them. Cubs versus Cardinals, you will always see fire in those games. This whole homestand will be very difficult. Tough pitching. We have to put it together and try to have some fun.

— Marlon

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well marlon i feel bad for u guys i thought u guys would b good this year i am a huge braves fan and all my friends r cub fans so its alot of fun when we play u guys not that u care do u think the braves r for real

sorry for bad the year though u guys would b better i am a huge braves fan and all my friends r cub fans i get alot of grief from them i think u guys can b a good spoiler team not that u care do u think the braves r for real trying to get everybodys oppion

Marlon, my man. You bring a fantastic edge to my Cubbies. Your hustle is unmatched. I tell my 7 year-old to watch what you give to your team. What you bring to the table is what we as liitle leaguers and pee-wee balersl all learned- give it all you have! Run out every at bat! There is no such thing as a guaranteed out on an infield hit. Communicate with your team.
I have an enormous amount of respect for you and I sincerely hope that you will grace this Cubs team with your presence for many years to come. (My heart quite literally broke when Mark DeRosa left Chi-town. Now all of my positive vibes get sent straight to you.)
I live in Houston, TX and wish that I had better access to my Cubbies. I would consider it an honor to have any opportunity for me and my son to shake the hand of such a well-rounded baller.
Ryan

hey marlon, i am a baseball fan from pittsburgh and ballhawk currently in second place in the ballhawk league, i actually caught a couple of your batting practice home runs when you guys came to pnc…. congratulations on having an awesome year and your hustle is awesome!!!!!!

marlon my man, i am a lifelong cubs fan i didnt know alot about u when the cubbies signed u and to be honest i was kinda dissapointed cause i wanted our big offseason move to be adam dunn. i have to say that you have made me a beleiver. i love ur hustle and just wish that some of ur co workers would take a hard look at ur play and do the same instead of showboating. i truely admire ur play and want u to know that you are very much appreciated by cubs fans worldwide. keep it up and retire a cubbie

This has been such a tough year to watch as Cubs fans, the one bright point has been Marlon Byrd in center. It’d be nice to have a club house full of guys like him. He shows up every day and plays. He doesn’t let bad games turn into bad weeks turn into a bad season. I was worried when the Cubs brought him over after the whole Milton Bradley issue. I didn’t want to see another solid hard working outfielder get run out of town because he was struggling to try to carry the load for an under-performing ball club, but clearly Marlon is the type of guy and player that simply grinds it out day after day and does it with a smile of his face. He doesn’t get down on himself or his teammates, couches, manager, fans, or city, because of struggles. The Cubs front office in recent years has gotten rid of a lot of good team guys that filled important roles for the Cubs and is ultimately the reason that the Cubs are the worst team in baseball this year, (When considering payroll, talent, and expectation) and it wouldn’t surprise me if in two years at this time we’re watching another exit, but for the time being this guy is what Cubs fans need to root for.

Very true. In past years, Cubs players have seemed so worried and stressed in the postseason, not playing up to their ability. You have to not worry and just relax at the plate or on the mound. I saw Carlos Marmol throwing balls in the dirt and Aramis Ramirez swinging at ones down there in past playoffs – you can’t be tense or you won’t perform, since baseball is about speed – bat speed, running speed, reaction speed; and speed requires relaxation for instantaneous recognition and movement. As David Ortiz once put it, you have to be ‘tranquilo’ at the plate.

Sorry I didn’t write sooner, but I was out in Montana with the family visiting my dad and step-mom. We were out there around the fire pit and fishing and looking at wild life and going to the river and dissecting owl barf. We even saw the ugliest mullet we’ve ever laid eyes on. This kid was about 8 or 10 years old and he had a mohamullet. That’s a mohawk down the middle and then his hair grew clear down to the middle of his back. His brothers were pretty mulleted too. Have you ever had a mullet, Marlon?

I’m glad you want to ruin the season for these other teams. I mean, when my kids don’t get what they want the least they can do is try to spoil it for everyone else…I guess that’s not exactly the same. I’m a Philadelphia Eagles fan so I’m looking forward to the Kevin Kolb era…how about you?

Well, church softball is over. We had our big end of the year tournament and we did great on Saturday and then we ate the rotten taco on Sunday. I had a ball hit to me in right-center. I took a step in then realized it was a bit over my head so I went to go back on it and I slipped and fell down. I tried to get up, but I missed it by 4 feet. I did make a sweet diving catch later, but don’t worry, I played it cool as though it was routine. Maybe you saw it on Web Gems that night? No, there was no video in this year’s budget, Marlon.

We changed our team name for Fall Ball which is through the city instead of the church league. Now I will have to write to tell you about Rec League Softball! I thought it would be pretty good to make our logo a set of eyes and call ourselves “The Gaze” but nobody really thought that was quite as funny as I did. I think maybe my sister-in-law Tara did, but didn’t want anyone to know just how hilarious it was but I could be wrong about that too. Speaking of, sister-in-law Tara was at Oaks Park with my niece and nephew yesterday (that’s not a coincidence…they are HER KIDS!). Then we talked about being “The Runz” (everything is cooler with “Z” on the end instead of an “S”…catch up, Marlon). Anyway, my brother-in-law Andy said we could have a logo with a guy running with a worried look on his face. I thought a big brown puddle would do (no I didn’t [yes I did {no I didn’t}]). Anyway, we didn’t do that either. We went with “Ghost Runners”. Get it? Do you? I stole the Ghost Hunters logo (tell me you watch Ghost Hunters on SyFy!). Do you know about Grant and Jay and the TAPS team with Steve and Tango and Kris and sometimes Amy? I’m glad they dumped Brian Harnois…that guy was a hoaxer!

Marlon, I love the Cubs but I really think that Jim Hendry is the worst GM I have ever seen. I know he signed you and bravo for that, but I’m really sorry to say that I think the Cubs are 3 years from being a World Series contender. It makes me sad to say that I wish the Cubs were run as well as the Cardinals.

When are you going to give a shout out to my brother-in-law Andy and my sister-in-law Tara? They watch a lot of games on TV still even though it hurts. They DVR and watch them later. You gotta respect that, man. Remember, they have a Marlon Byrd signed ball! I stopped watching weeks ago…maybe even months.

Well Marlon, my lunch is trying to make an early exit so I’d better wrap this up.

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